


Patch Work (Rewritten)

by Maggers727



Category: Marble Hornets
Genre: Aftermath, Fix-It, Marble Hornets - Freeform, Post-Series, Rewrite, Slenderverse, patch work, redo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-16
Updated: 2015-10-16
Packaged: 2018-04-26 14:52:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5008939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maggers727/pseuds/Maggers727
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when your life is hell and you die only for it to turn upside down? Do you go with it or stay skeptical?</p><p>(THIS IS A REWRITE OF THE ORIGINAL!!!! I WILL BE GETTING RID OF THE ORIGINAL COME NEW YEARS!!!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome Back

**Author's Note:**

> TRIGGER WARNING
> 
> There is the teeniest tiniest hint of suicide in chapter 1 and will be brought up in further chapters so proceed with caution but I will never go into details with it.

He's the first.

Tim is the first to wake up, and he's sitting there looking at the bodies scattered around him. A gravel road acts as a bed to the unconscious, a wooded area surrounding them. Not once in his life did Tim think that a feeling of calmness would be so unsettling. Is this the ark? What happened? The last thing he remembers is.... He swallows hard at the thought and rubs the side of his head as he continues to look at the bodies. One in particular makes his eyes freeze. Just laying to the left of him a few feet away, Jay's flat on his stomach, and his face is pointing away from Tim. Tim watches for any sign of breathing, his mind going blank. Although his vision is kind of dizzy, he finally sees Jay's body exhaling. Tim quickly moves to his side.

Before he can shake him, something catches his eye. He looks up and there at the edge of the wood is some kind of white figure. It doesn't make him tremble or cough. It isn't the familiar, suit-wearing, white, faceless creature he'd seen all his life. It's a little kid with a face, and everything about them is just white. Ghost-like, really. There even seems to be white wisps coming off of it. They aren't wearing clothes from any recent time. It's plain cloth with some patch work done on it. What is it? Is it an angel? Is it just what it looks like? A ghost?

Who knows how long Tim kept eye contact with the little kid but he never felt afraid, nor did he feel like running. He only feels warmth and....and hope? Memories of being busy at work and chatting with co-workers and leading as normal of a life as he could have flash in his mind. He finally snaps back to reality and makes a curious face at the child. The little one merely smiles sweetly and gives a little wave as it slowly disappears back into the woods just like smoke. There's some kind of ringing in his ears. No, wait. It's more like a screeching noise coming from far in the woods.

Blinking a few times, his attention is back to Jay, who has not moved in the least bit."......Jay?", he can only say softly and he shakes his shoulder a little bit. "Jay come on, buddy, wake up!" His voice is much louder and urgent now. Tim moves to the other side of Jay in order to flip him over and see that there is no bullet wound or any blood in sight, yet he's wearing the exact clothes from that day.

Tim pats Jay's cheek a few times,"Jay, please wake up!" And with that, Jay's face scrunches up a bit and a small groan can be heard. Green-blue eyes slowly open and blink away the fog. They're greeted by the smallest yet most genuine smile Tim has made in the longest time.

"Tim?", he croaks out, "What the hell?" Jay slowly sits up and rubs at his eyes. It takes him a few seconds to realize he's not in pain. He looks down at his side, no blood nor bullet. "What the....."

"Yeah, I know....... but I don't really know what's happening right now." Jay looks at him and merely glances at the scenery before freezing as he sees the other bodies.

"Tim....."

"Yeah, they're all there. First things first though, are you feeling okay? Is there anything feeling kind of off or anything?"

"Besides the actual clarity in my head? No, nothing seems hurt or anything." Jay holds his side as he glances at Jessica.

"Come on, we'll get her next." Tim helps Jay up off the ground and they quickly head to Jessica's side. Jay gets there more quickly than Tim. He shakes her shoulder and calls out her name. Jessica's much faster to react than Jay was. She takes a deep breath and pushes herself off the ground a little bit so she can move her head around. Jay smiles and helps her sit up and clear her head. Tim glances around making sure none of the other bodies have waken up by themselves.

".....Jay?" She says as she rubs at the spots on her face that were being jabbed by rocks. "What's going on?"

Wait.... She remembers him?..... What else does she remember?

"I'm not sure, I just woke up like mere minutes ago. Are you alright?" The two continue to do a small check between the other. Tim stands there in silence, catching the actual joy in Jay's voice. He finally found her, whether or not they're safe is another question, but this is still a big step for Jay. Will he ever find out about Tim keeping her from him? No. Tim will tell him. He's done with keeping all of this in. Tim gazes on, looking at each body for signs of life. Luckily, he can see they were all breathing.

"Tim?" They're now both at his side and he doesn't even jump at the interruption of his thoughts.

"Split up and get the others. Check if they're okay and tell them that it'll be alright and it'll all be explained later. No one touch Alex or Brian, though." The other two nod and Jessica goes for Amy and Jay goes for Seth. Tim stands there for a few seconds just looking at the sight. He steps towards Sarah and begins to gently wake her up. 

He's answered with a groan, and Sarah swats at his hand on her arm. "Just tell them I'm sick" she mumbles out, and Tim can't help but think 'you have no idea'. Then again, it feels different, like Jay said. His head is more clear. So maybe Tim has no idea, either. This only added to the confusion as the image of the little ghost child popped back into his mind.

Tim sighs and shakes Sarah's shoulder once more, "Sarah, you need to get up, come on." Her eyebrows furrow as she opens her eyes.

"What the fuck?" She sits up and looks down at the gravel and as she examines the area her eyes widen and land on Tim last......"uh...."

"Yeah, its a weird situation but first, do you feel okay? No pain or anything?" This only causes her eyes to widen even more andto kind of lean away from Tim. It only occurs to him now that he doesn't actually know how she died. He wonders if she does.

"Not that I know of? Tim, where are we?" She peers around once again to see that Amy and Jessica are now hugging and Seth just now starts to open his eyes.

"It'll all be explained don't worry. Just uh.... just hold on for a moment and when everyone's up and awake then I'll try to explain everything, alright?" She relaxes slowly, but just barely. Her only answer is with a small nod. "Great."


	2. Isolation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim goes and wakes Brian and Alex while Jay and Jessica explain some things to the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No triggers. Please inform me if otherwise.

They're all up and functioning but nothing seems to be getting rid of the confused faces. Amy won't stop glancing at Alex and Sarah looks like shes about to run at any minute, while at the same time kind of hiding behind Seth like she'll sacrifice him first. Then there's Seth that keeps trying to remember whose party he was at the night before and how they all got here from said party.

Jessica hasn't left Amy's side nor has Jay left Jessica's. They all seem to be looking at Tim for the answers, but Tim doesn't know quite where to start. He glances again between the last two bodies on the ground. "Jay can I talk to you real quick?" Tim walks off to the side enough so the others can't hear what he whispers. Jay doesn't hesitate and follows Tim.

"What's up?"

"I need you to do me one favor. It's the only favor I will ever ask you, ever."

"Uh...."

"I need you to summarize what exactly is happening. I don't know how but you've gotta just summarize enough of it and make it believable that they'll stay with us alright?"

"......Tim I don't know if you've met me but I'm terrible at public speaking, especially on a topic like this. Oh yeah sorry guys our friend basically killed almost all of us and now we've been magically brought back to life to who knows where."

"Id leave out all of that actually."

"Tim."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry but I don't want people crowding around when I wake Brian up, and I'm not sure about Alex. I'm trying to figure things out, and I can't think about where to start on a simple explanation. If anything, I've filled Jessica in enough and....... I think she may remember enough events that she can help you or help persuade them to stick around."

"............Alright." Jay sighs and does a little jog back to the small group. Tim looks over at Brian laying about ten feet away and takes a deep breath before heading towards him. No amount of calm feeling can stop his stomach from churning. He can't even begin to comprehend the fact that Brian was the one behind the mask. Brian, who he believed to be dead from the moment he saw that tape from the hospital with Alex. Those nightmares of just standing there, watching it all happen, and not being able to do anything about it, only to end up switching places and suddenly being in Brian' s position. Those nightmares haunted him for countless nights. Tim's half expecting this entire situation to just turn into a nightmare.

When Tim finally approaches Brian's side, his legs can't help but to start feeling like jelly. Brian's laying in the same position he fell. One arm folded onto his stomach and the other sprawled outward. The only big difference is there's no mask and his hood is down. You can see the smallest hint of beard starting to grow, and his cheeks are kind of hollow. Wow, he almost beats Jay for having the darkest circles under his eyes, but somehow he looks ...... peaceful. Being that this was the first time Tim's seen Brian's actual face in who knows how long, it feels wrong having to wake him up, for some reason. Before he does so, he searches his pockets and finds nothing. A chill runs up his spine as he remembers doing the same thing after the fall. 

Tim hesitates before gently grabbing Brian's shoulder and shaking it. "Brian." No response, so he tries again. "Brian wake up." Suddenly, Tim's wrist is grabbed tightly, and in a flash he quickly uses both hands to pin down Brian's shoulders before Brian could fully sit up and escape. "No, hold still, don't move, don't do anything!" Tim quietly warns him. Brian's body is as tense as can be. His grip on Tim's wrists only tighten as he seems to be having trouble seeing and focusing. After Squirming around and blinking away the dizziness, Brian's eyes focus as best as they can on Tim's. They stare each other down for a few seconds, Brian wearing a defensive expression with a hint of complete terror. Tim is somewhat thrown by the look. He has half a mind to just pull him up and hug him close, forget about the terrible deeds. Sadly, he can't risk the others' safety. "First of all, are you in control? Full control. No signs what so ever that it's in your head. No static or fogginess or anything??"

Brian's eyebrows furrow as he swallows hard and nods quickly, but Tim doesn't relieve any pressure from his shoulders. "Now listen, everyone is here, the whole crew. All of them. I don't know how or why, but we're all supposed to be dead and now we're here. Alex isn't up yet, and Jay is trying to explain to the clueless about what's kind of happened. You and Alex were the only ones to lose complete control and I need to make sure its safe to have you around. I don't need you or him pulling out any weapons on us so I searched you and I'll search him before we wake him up. But that doesn't mean you guys are completely off the hook. If you two show any signs I'll take you down instantly, you got that?"

Brian's expression has slowly changed from on the defense to what a child would look like if they knew they were in trouble. He slowly nods and let's go of Tim's wrists. Tim hesitates for a moment before letting Brian go. Slowly but surely, Brian sits up and looks around a bit. He notices the group is staring at him and his eyes go directly to the ground. "Don't move from this spot. I'm going to check on Alex." Brian doesn't answer and just keeps staring at the ground. Tim stands up and walks away as Brian occupies himself by fiddling with his hands. He's quickly trying to take off the gloves and throw them to the side.

Tim rubs at his forehead and takes another deep breath. He passes the group and taps Jay's back, "Hey, come with me." After getting an okay from Jessica, Jay follows Tim and she takes over. Hopefully every thing's going well with that. "I'm gonna need help with Alex just in case. Also, keep an eye on Brian. If he does anything suspicious tell me." Tim can already feel a massive headache coming on, but things needed to be sorted out and sorted out fast.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Jay shoots an arm across Tim's chest to stop him, "He's awake." Tim scans the body and sees Alex's hands are clenched and his breathing is a bit wild. Its only when they inch closer that they can see his eyes are open. Tim glances back and sees the group is still busy listening to Jessica, and Brian has thrown his hoody off and away from him. He speaks only loud enough for Alex, and of course Jay, to hear.

"Alex...... we need to know if you're in full control. No sign of it anywhere in your head." It takes a moment, but Alex nods. Tim slowly approaches him, "As a precaution I'm going to search for anything that can harm anyone alright?" Alex gives another small nod and doesn't move as Tim carefully searches his pockets, only to pull out car keys and a wallet. He stashes them in his own pockets. "Alright. One move and I'll pin you down and Jay will be right there to knock you right back out, got it? We won't hurt you, we're here to explain."

"Yeah, I understand, it's alright." Alex answers frantically.

"Alright. They're all here. Every one of them. We've all died and now were back here. I'm not sure where exactly-"

"We're in Rosswood....." Tim and Jay glance at each other.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah...... I've been here before...."

".......Well....alright uh.... Jessica and Jay have been telling the ones that are clueless a basic summary of it all. You and Brian are the only ones that lost all control. So if either of you make a wrong move you'll be taken down got it?" Alex nods quickly. "Good. Any questions?" Alex thinks for a bit but only shakes his head a little. "Alright. You can sit up if you want, but don't move from this spot." Tim stands up, and Jay follows after taking a small moment to really look at and make sure that it's really Alex. Tim thinks Jay must be feeling pretty great after seeing the two people he was literally dying to find.

They head over to the group after taking a couple of glances at an isolated Brian and Alex. Both are staying put and don't seem to be in any mind set to escape. Turning back to the group, they're only greeted with worried looks and probably a lot more questions.


	3. Forever Being Questioned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang finally collects themselves and figures out what their next move will be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No triggers. Please inform me if otherwise.

"So what do you guys know so far?" Tim asks the group of confused and irritated people. Sarah's in the usual stance she always used to pull whenever she was getting mad at Alex. Arms crossed, head tilted, face blank other than her lips almost being in a tight frown. There's no way Tim would forget the look he saw so often during filming. Seth just looks confused and Amy won't stop looking super concerned at Alex.

"Apparently, it's super important for all of us to stay together because some guy that's been stalking you guys is now after us and it's best that we're not alone. Also, Alex and Brian are in big trouble and in time out so we're not allowed to talk to them, especially Amy. More will be explained to us later." Sarah speaks up for them, not once losing the irritated stance.

"Have you contacted the police about this?" Seth finally speaks and Tim notices he looks older than what he used to. They all do. Like, they aged with the time even after being killed.

"It hasn't been that easy, trust me."

"Is Alex okay?" Amy pipes up.

"What? Uh....... Yeah as far as I know, don't worry." Amy begins biting on her lips and her nerves are starting to make her hands shake. "Right, now we need a place to go."

"Well, our houses aren't the greatest idea and I have my wallet, we can get some hotel rooms." Seth is only answered by a groan from Jay, a grimace from Jessica, and Tim's pretty sure his headache just got worse. Seth leans down a bit and mumbles to Sarah, "I'm guessing that's a no." Her eyebrows rise in response.

"It's not a no but let's just leave it as last resort, again, that'll be explained later." Tim turns around and checks on Alex and Brian. They're still sitting in their spots, Brian with his knees to his chest and Alex with his head in his hands. "Does anyone have like an extra house or property that can fit all of us?"

"My grandma recently died and we never use her house" Amy joins in. "Uh.... Either people would have to share a room or there might be extra mattresses. That is, if we needed to stay over night there. We've also kept the water and electricity working on it."

"Great! When can we move in and where is it?"

"I'm sure we can use it right now and uh.... Where are we right now?"

"Apparently, we're in Rosswood Park."

"Then it's about........ A forty minute drive from here."

"Alright now we need our cars. Does anyone have car keys with them? I have mine and Alex's"

"I do." Jay and Jessica say at the same time.

"Okay, any of you guys?" they check their pockets but they only have their money with them. "Well at least you have that. Count up and see how much we have all together." They do so and Tim counts Alex's cash, as well. The group ends up with $178 dollars in cash, some credits cards, and a few gas cards.

"So where are the cars?" Sarah points out.

"No clue but considering...... events. I do think our luck is with us." Tim takes his keys and Alex's keys and presses the alarm button on each of them. " You two, do the same." Jay and Jessica press the buttons and everyone quiets down as they can hear very faint alarms going off in the distance.

"Well pinch my butt and call me Sally, that is extremely lucky." A few of them laugh at Seth.

"Shh, you'll jinx it." Jay says. Tim gives a light chuckle at that phrase.

"Alright hold on and we'll start walking." Tim heads towards Brian first and gives him an update. Brian still continues to silently obey, and Tim gives him permission to head over to the group. Brian hesitates at first but nods and slowly walks over. Seth pats him on the back for a greeting and Brian flinches, but Seth doesn't catch it. What he does see is the lost look on Brian's face as he continues to look around. Brian takes a breath, stuffs his hands in his pockets, and avoids eye contact with anyone. Seth looks at him oddly and frowns. Sarah just shrugs when Seth looks to her. They continue to wait as Tim heads to Alex.

As he approaches, Alex slowly stands up, with his hands where Tim can see them, and waits to hear what Tim says. He takes a deep breath before beginning to explain the situation. "Amy's worried about you so there's that. I don't exactly want you driving by yourself so you have to ride with me and you'll give Amy your car, deal?" After thinking for a moment, Alex sighs and agrees. "When we get to the house they're going to drill us for answers so we'll have to make a way to do that but first we need to get out of here....... can I actually trust you for once to get us out and to the cars?"

Alex looks around and thinks a moment, "Yeah. I got lost here once and then my grandpa found me and he showed me the way out. I uh,.....I woke up here a couple of times too." Tim nods.

"Come on." He leads Alex back to the group and nods at Amy who's just itching to give him a hug. Surprisingly, she doesn't even question his appearance as she quickly embraces him and holds him tight. Alex hesitates only a second before hugging back. Tim does notice the odd looks from the other two as they looked at him. Fuck. Hopefully Tim won't have to explain that just yet.

"So is everything good now? I really don't want to stay here if there's some guy stalking all of us." Sarah says as she tears her eyes away from the couple. Alex glances at Tim and then to Jay.

"Yeah, Alex knows the way out, so we'll follow him." Jays eyes widen just a little bit as he and Tim make a brief exchange of expressions.

Alex pulls away from Amy and starts leading everyone through a maze of trails. Jay patrols the center and Tim stays in the back. Everyone stays silent for the most part, mumbling here and there to each other. About ten minutes of walking passes and Tim's mind starts trailing off.

What the hell is happening? Why were they all brought back? Why hasn't the stupid thing shown up and taken the chance? What was that ghost thing? Has anyone else seen the ghost or is it just me? What the hell do I tell the three clueless? Should I keep the story to just some guy stalking us and leave it there?........No.....I'm so tired of lying............. Why hasn't Brian said anything? How is this all going to go if the clueless call their parents or something? How had Alex been able to stay calm through all of this? How are they going to react when they find out they've been gone for five or six years? How are they going to react to any of this? To learning that they were killed and now they're back? Ugh, this is a fucking mess!

Tim can't help but to get lost in the picture ahead of him. Everyone walking together. Just like when they'd get done shooting a scene from Marble Hornets. Alex talking to Seth about camera angles and how he's going to be edit the movie together. Sarah's usually at Tim or Brian's side talking about certain scenes or complaining about being so hungry due to how late filming ran. Jay always trailing beside Alex listening in and fiddling with the camera or looking at the script in his hand.

Tim's thoughts are interrupted by loud alarms busting into his ear drums as they approach the end of the trail and finally get to the cars. He turns his and Alex's off, and Jay and Jessica do the same.

"Amy I'm gonna need you to drive Alex's car and we'll follow you."

"Why can't Alex drive?"

"He's still in time out." Alex raises an eyebrow at that statement and Amy huffs. She takes the keys from Tim and heads off to start up the car. The others follow, splitting into pairs. Amy and Sarah, Tim and Alex, Jay and Seth, and Jessica and Brian. They climbed into the vehicles and followed Amy out into the road.


	4. A Hopeful Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group drives to Amy's deceased grandma's house in hope for some answers. On the way, Tim becomes quite the talkative person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING
> 
> Mentions of dead relative. Please inform me of any others.

Amy finally starts tasting copper as she tears her lip from nervous biting. Sarah keeps spouting off different theories as to what's really happening and why Alex and Brian are in trouble. Soon enough, she veers off and just starts ranting about the entire situation. She especially doesn't like how secretive all of this is. Amy pops in during the quieter moments with questions about Alex.

"Do you think he's alright?"

"Amy, he has a beard. This has bad prank make up all over it. I have a final to study for, I don't have time for this!"

"I don't know. Something's up."

Meanwhile, with Seth and Jay.

"So, did we go to a party last night or not? I'm still confused about all of that. I'm more than pretty sure I drank too much.......Holy shit, did we get fucking trashed and then kidnapped and dropped there? Is someone really fucking with us or is this some kind of prank that I'm not in on?" Seth can't stop asking multiple questions at a time and Jay's only getting more stressed out.

"Seth, for the last time, you're gonna have to wait until we get to Amy's place. Tim will try to answer your questions, alright?" Seth only sighs and turns up the radio. Jay runs a hand through his hair and switches lanes to pass a car that has separated him and the others.

Jessica tried asking Brian a couple of questions but never got a response, not even a glance. His eyes are glued to his reflection in the car's side mirror.

"This'll all be straightened out, I know it. Don't worry." At this point, Brian can't help but look at her like she's crazy. He clearly notices how her hands tighten around the wheel after she glances towards him. Quickly looking away, he shuts off the radio when it starts going out and static fills the car.

Tim honestly doesn't know why he's even driving. He's freaking out about everything that's happened so far. This could be a hallucination, a dream, or some world that thing made up just to mess with him. He wouldn't be surprised if this was hell or purgatory, but you're not supposed to feel hopeful and calm in those places. What's up with that? There's a weight off his shoulders, but his mind is racing with denial. It's always been a foreign feeling that was very rarely ever felt. It doesn't help that a silently panicking Alex at his side just adds to the stress. Tim takes a deep breath before actually speaking up.

"Alex, I want you to understand something above all of this. Well, whatever the fuck all of this is...No matter what you think, no matter how much you tell yourself the opposite,... none of this is your fault. If anything, it's completely my fault because I didn't get to you sooner to stop you and talk you out of it all. It's my fault I couldn't get you help in time before you were completely out of it... And I'm sorry for that."

Alex doesn't look at him and keeps staring out the window. He shuts his eyes tight and buries his face into his hands, fingers raking at his hair. Tim's grip on the steering wheel tightens and his stomach drops when Alex finally breaks down sobbing and cursing at himself every so often. He's not sure what to say to him or if he should even say anything else. Alex's mind may be scrambled and confused so much he can't tell what was actually him and what wasn't. What was influenced and what was out of his control completely.

"What did I do?! Who did I hurt?!" Tim practically jumps when Alex suddenly speaks up and yells.

"No! Stop. Stop right now. You didn't do shit, Alex! It was that fucking thing. It took control of your mind and your actions, and there was very little that could have been done."

"Tim, I barely remember anything! I only remember hiding and being paranoid all the fucking time! I remember waking up with someone's blood all over me and I don't know whose! It happened more than once, too!" Tim starts biting on his lip. He sure hopes they don't crash from all of this. "I'm so much fucking older now! I don't know how so much time has passed! I'm pretty sure the group has noticed and I don't know how Amy isn't staying at least 10 feet away from me! Why do I feel like this? What the fuck did I do, Tim? What did you mean back there? What did you mean by everyone's dead?"

"J-just that. Everyone has died, o-or at least that's my theory. I don't know why I think it. I just do."

"Fucking Christ." Alex sits back and rubs at his face. After a few deep breaths, he continues on, much more calmly. "When I was laying there waiting, I started having like flashbacks but they were really, really spotty and just didn't seem real at all. They were really fucking terrible, and god damn that's a fucking understatement. I just want to know. Was it my hands that ... that... Jesus Christ... that fucking... killed... everyone?"

"Not.....not everyone."

"Holy shit."

"Alex. I'll explain everything when we get to wherever. Look, you're you now-"

"Am I?"

"Well, you sure as hell aren't holding a gun to my head now, are you?" Alex only groans and Tim mentally punches himself. "Anyways, I'll explain it all in due time, alright? Just don't think about it too much right now. Everything was out of our hands. Especially, and I mean especially, out of your hands, got it?"

The rest of the ride was silent besides Alex trying to calm himself down. Tim almost lost the train of cars as his mind was trying to think of ways to tell the others just how much he's fucked everyone's life up. He's got barely any clue when the scenery starts getting denser with houses. They park on the side of the road in front of a two story, fenced in, blue house. Amy takes the garage, and Jay and Jessica take up the driveway. Tim turns off the car and sits there for a silent second before looking at Alex apologetically. "I'm going to need to know what terrible things you remember doing. Like how did some people die?" Alex just looks like he's going to be sick and doesn't keep eye contact with Tim as he answers quietly.

"Um...I think I... strangled Sarah?... There was some other guy that I don't remember... I beat in the tunnel? ... I remember dragging Brian..." He starts shaking his head and shrugs. "Everything else is too spotty or just me hiding..." A pained expression follows and Alex rubs at his eyes.

Tim swallows hard and thinks for a second. "Alex, I truly meant what I said, I'm well aware that I could have kept all of this from happening. Honestly, I have no clue how any of this is going to go. Call me crazy or whatever, but I truly think this is your guys' chance to start your lives back up. That's saying something, coming from me. I'll help with anything, I don't care. No matter what happened or will happen, I've caused a lot of this so it's up to me to help you. All of you. I mean you have to feel it too! The pressure that is just lifted away? The scratch in the back of your throat is gone? I don't know if this is my own hell, or my own heaven, although I highly doubt it, or if this is the in between or whatever. The fact is, I'm supposed to be dead, everyone here is, I'm not exactly sure how Jessica died but this is all just way too weird, even for me. There's something behind all of this and I'll tell you all about it later but something's telling me that this is a second chance. It's like a gut feeling, but something is definitely putting it there for me to feel. Now whatever you do don't drown in the chaos that has happened. Just keep this all in mind because I know you've got to feel it too."

Alex looks totally overwhelmed and tired as he gives Tim a perplexed expression. Why the hell is Tim trusting him with all this information? Why is he suddenly opening up and just spouting out all his feelings? Why him? Why Alex of all people? This is not the smart ass, amateur actor Alex was easily irritated by. This was Tim Wright, the guy who grew up in complete terror and somehow skidaddled his way into the group through Brian.

Tim stares at him with a pleading look built upon guilt and what little hope has sprouted from inside him. Alex opens his mouth to say something but ends up closing it and simply nods. He notices the tiniest way Tim relaxes his shoulders and receives a nod right back. The two finally get out of the car and walk towards the group of people waiting on the shaded, front porch of the house.

"Everything alright?" Jay asks.

"Yeah, fine."

"Come on, I'll show you guys around the house a bit." Amy pulls open the front door and every one follows behind.

The door opens up into the kitchen, take an instant left turn and you go through a doorway into the living room. There's a downstairs bathroom as well as a large closet. The stairs then take you to the second floor where there's another bathroom alone with six bedrooms. "My grandma loved having family and guests over all the time." Well Grandma's a saint because this is all they have now.

"My Mom and Dad were perfectly fine with letting us use it for a while. I told them it was to have us all hangout and whatnot." Tim froze. Did he hear her correctly? "All they ask is the usual, no mad parties or anything that will damage the property."

"Tim?" Jay was by his side as the group started going room to room, some already claiming them.

"Did she just say she talked to her parents?"

"Yeah. It caught me off guard, too... Do you think everyone can talk to their families? I..... I kind of really actually miss mine, so......." Tim just shrugs and rubs at his head, headache getting worse.

"Honestly, I have no idea. We'll have to try sometime tonight or tomorrow." Jay nods in agreement.

"Alright, fantastic tour and everything but I'm gonna need explanations. Now." Sarah demands and turns to Tim. Although they stay silent, Seth and Amy look anxious to hear what Tim has to say.

Tim swallows hard, this is probably going to be the toughest part of it all, and the headache he's got is not helping. Tim speaks in a low tone, preparing himself and fighting his way through the steps he made for his plan. "Jay please tell me you found all your electronics in your car as well?" While getting in the car, Tim looked back and saw that his cell phone and chest cam were all in the back seat.

"Uh yeah actually."

"Go ahead and get your laptop." Jay nods and heads downstairs and out the door. "Now I want you guys to understand this. Everything I'm going to say is the truth. It's not a prank, Ashton Kutcher isn't going to pop out and say surprise, and this isn't scare tactics either. Its 100% truth and Alex, Brian, Jay, and Jessica can back me up on it. It's going to sound so fucking crazy and out of this world and some kind of bullshit, but that's just it, it isn't." Tim only receives furrowed eyebrows and wide eyes from the three. They glance around at the previously stated people. Jessica nods, Alex's jaw tightens but eventually nods as well, and Brian tenses up as attention is brought to him. He nods slightly and rubs the back of his neck. Something about the movement catches Tim, but he doesn't know why.

"I'm going to take you guys one by one to explain the situation and then I'll have you guys watch some things that have been happening for the past three to five years." Tim glances as he sees Jessica sneak down the steps and he peers back at the increasingly, if that's even possible at this point, confused stares. "So, who's first?"


	5. Story Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim begins the difficult process of telling Sarah, Seth, and Amy what has happened. Of course, starting out brief.e

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No triggers. Please inform me if otherwise.

Everyone is downstairs in the living room waiting as Tim begins to take on the three one at a time. He picks a room upstairs and sits at a desk chair while Sarah sits on the bed. "So who's stalking you and why exactly were we all put in danger?" she almost immediately asks.

"Well," Tim pauses, looks her straight in the eye, and sighs, "Do you believe in the supernatural by chance?" He cringes at just how ridiculous he must sound. Why the hell did he choose that question as a place to start? The look of confusion on Sarah's face doesn't give him much hope, so he looks down at the ground to avoid eye contact. Shit. New idea.

"Yeah, I guess. I mean my great aunt died in our house, and some weird things happen, I don't know." Tim raises an eyebrow.

Please end well.

"Okay, well, I've had something supernatural follow me for basically all my life. When we were making Marble Hornets, I guess it started branching off, and it got to Alex. This thing is in no way kind. It messes with your head, and you lose control. It can cause memory loss and terrible mental health problems and seriously leaves no room for hope." That's it. That's the short and to the point explanation that Tim had and by the looks of it Sarah is still nothing but confused. She's not saying anything though. 

Well, this is it. She's going to freak out and call me crazy. 

Sarah's eyes suddenly grow larger, as if she's just realized something. She suddenly gets up and looks through the desk. "What are you doing?"

"Hold on." She finds a notepad and pen and starts scribbling. After a moment, she shows him a picture of the thing and the symbol. Tim looks up at her in complete shock.

"T-that's it, that's the thing! How'd you know about it?"

"A few days ago, I started seeing it around the shoots. I asked Alex to see if it was a prop ...... oh wait no, asking Alex was just a dream." She shrugs and sits back down on the bed. "A bad one at that, he ended up just not saying anything and then .....then he uh...."

"....He strangled you..."

Tim swallowed hard. He had a plan, sort of, but really he never expected this to go smoothly. The plan sucks and he has no clue how to actually respond to any of this. Sarah's in disbelief; she has no idea how he would have known that.

"...It got to him......it got to Alex......He..." She couldn't finish that sentence as the blood drained from her face. He simply gives her a sympathetic look and a small nod.

Tim spends the next twenty minutes trying to calm a sobbing Sarah down and slowly explains that she's been gone for 5 years and that none of this was actually Alex's fault, just his.

\-----

As Jay and Jessica help Sarah clean up and calm down, Tim goes downstairs and looks about the room for Seth. In the kitchen area, Alex is sitting on one end of the table, the other end looking like Jay was sitting there, chords and a computer all spread out. Amy looks pissed as she sits on the couch with Brian all tensed up and sitting as far away as he can. Finally, Seth is just coming out of the bathroom, wiping his hands on his pants to dry them. He glances at the clock, "Well, took ya long enough." He jokes. His head snaps up to the sound of Sarah letting out another sob. "Why the hell is she upset? What'd you do to her, man?" His eyes turn back towards Tim, now.

Tim glances back around, only catching Brian's eyes for a second.

"She'll be fine..I think. Well, uh, you'll find out... It's your turn." He turns and heads back up the stairs. They pass the bedroom Jay, Jessica, and Sarah are in. Jessica's holding a box of tissues and rubbing her back as Jay mumbles some more explanations. After Seth gets into the room, Tim closes the door behind them.

Tim rubs at his own eyes and Seth sighs as he finally sits down. "Seth, do you believe in the supernatural?" He only receives a look that's clearly a no. "Well, it exists. I don't know how much of it does, but the guy that's been stalking Alex and I is actually a thing. It's some kind of being that's been following me around my entire life, and when I started hanging out with you guys during the movie, it branched off. I'm not sure how much of an affect it has had on Brian and it barely got a grasp on Jay but yeah. Basically, it takes a tole on your mind and you make bad decisions. Horrible ones, actually.....uh....." Tim finally realizes he's rambling at a fast pace and swallows hard to sooth his dry throat. As he coughs to clear it, he takes out the drawing and shows Seth, who seems to be not paying attention anymore.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for the cameras." Tim can't help but to groan and drop the picture to rub at his temples.

"Seth, I told you it's nothing like that. This is all true, if it wasn't would I know that the last thing you remember is you being attacked by Alex?" It takes Seth a second, but he puts down the pillow he's looking under and stares at Tim. Seth seems nothing but skeptical .

"What? I know Alex and I probably got into a drunk fight or something, but I don't remember anything afterwards, really."

"You weren't drunk, Seth. No one went to a party last night, nor did they the week before, or month or year or the past five years." Tim's only getting irritated looks, so he sighs and heads for the door. "Stay here, and don't even think about going and seeing Sarah. Your session isn't over." Seth groans and rolls his eyes as Tim closes the door behind him. He peers into the room the others were in and asks for Jay to follow him. Jessica stays with Sarah who's watching some of the videos on, what looks like, Jessica's phone.

"What's up?"

"Wait, what are you guys showing her exactly?"

"She wanted a few different answers and I've only shown her a couple. They were the best way to help her understand." Tim nods and watches a bit.

"Anyways, I need you to get your computer so we can show Seth. He's not believing the supernatural part of it all." Jay then responds with his own nod and quickly heads down stairs. Tim goes into the room and checks on Sarah.

As Jay grabs his laptop he peers around, Brian seems to have moved to the porch outside, as seen through the screen door, and Amy and Alex are separate. Alex had his head resting in his arms until Jay came around. He peers up and watches as Jay gives him a very small smile and wave before he heads back to the living room and up the stairs. Amy seems to just be looking out the window, bored as ever. Although, it looked like she may have been crying. He's not sure whether or not he or Jessica should talk to her.

Jay returns upstairs and hands Tim the laptop as he walks out of the room and back to the one Seth is in. "Thanks."

"Whatever gets this all cleared up." He passes Tim, pats his back gently, and returns to Jessica's side to help comfort Sarah.

Tim takes a deep breath and heads back into the room only to find it mostly torn up and things tossed everywhere. Tim's eyes spot a frozen Seth, who's standing on the computer chair to look on top of the shelves above the desk. Tim sighs and starts setting up the computer.

"Dude, just give up. I know it's a prank now, so why continue?"

"It's not a prank." Tim replies as he types into YouTube and goes to the channel. Seth rolls his eyes and climbs off the chair. "Come here and watch this." Seth does so, but Tim stops himself from pressing play. "Okay so I'm gonna go ahead and tell you that the last thing you remember is going down to a shooting scene with Alex and then Alex attacks you. It was in some kind of abandoned basement, I think. Now this, it happened a lot longer ago but to you it feels like yesterday, correct?" There was a long pause as Seth merely stares at Tim in disbelief.

"What the hell?"

"It's not a show or a prank or anything of that sort, Seth. It's real, supernatural stuff going on." Tim sighs and turns the laptop towards Seth and presses play.

It takes almost thirty minutes to try to keep Seth from leaving the property, accidentally hitting Brian in the back of the head with the screen door as he barged out. After Tim and Sarah start persuading him, he finally breaks down into complete silence.

"What the hell are you guys even doing?" Amy says, concern and fear written all over her face. "What was he talking about? Alex killing him?" The expression changes to confusion as she turns around towards Alex. His face gets red, and his fists clench as the attention turns towards him.

"Wait, Amy.." Tim takes a step towards her.

"What's going on Alex? Why's everyone acting weird? Why are you acting weird?"

"They're all lying! It can't be true!?" Seth starts pulling at his hair and tears well up in his eyes. Tim's had enough of being called a liar and finally snaps.

"If its a god damn lie then how could you explain all of us looking older somehow? Alex has a damn beard for god's sake and he's grown at least a few inches! Jay has unbelievable bags under his eyes and looks like he's on the brink of starvation, Jessica has a scar on her forehead from being knocked out, and Brian looks like he's one more sleepless night away from death. For fuck's sake!........" Tim only catches a glimpse of a white wisp go around the corner of the house and somehow he's calming down. Everyone is silent and just looking around at each other. He sighs and calmly says, "Please......... just ........ just believe me alright? I know it's hard to believe and everything, but it's all true.....Amy meet me up stairs in about ten minutes, alright?" She finally peels her widened eyes off of Alex and gives Tim a nod. He walks past the group and heads back into the house. Brian scoots over so he's not hit by the door again.

Brian looks out at the group just standing in the yard. Seth's sitting and holding his head as Amy gives Alex the weirdest look and heads back inside with Jessica following behind. Jay and Sarah slowly head over to Seth's side. They wait to start talking and comforting him. Alex stands alone, staring at nothing but the ground, fists still clenched, and being silent as ever. Brian's eyes follow as Alex heads around the corner, to the back yard.


	6. One More Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally Amy's turn to get the answers she's been waiting for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No triggers. Please inform me if otherwise.

Tim can hear the muffled talking downstairs as Jessica speaks to Amy. Right outside the window he can see Sarah rubbing Seth's back as he wipes his face, and Jay seems to be explaining things. Alex has left the front yard and Brian hasn't moved from the porch as he watches Jay and the others. Tim's using the ten minutes to pick up most of the room that Seth trashed and to try thinking of a softer way to approach Amy with all of this.

He could probably start off with assuring her that Alex is alright and that there's nothing to worry about, but is he really going to promise that? He doesn't know what the hell is going on. He's only been assuming, and even though he's got a good feeling, there's still this hesitation about the situation.

Tim's stomach churns and he really should sit down and take a breather. When he turns, he catches a glimpse of another white wisp going past the doorway, and he almost trips over a bed sheet as he instantly runs to the door to see it. Tim turns the corner into the hall, and almost slams into Amy but stops just in time.

"Oh, sorry Amy. Uh...," he glances at the clock and sees his ten minutes are up, "Go ahead and just sit anywhere." He receives a simple nod and she starts biting at her bottom lip as she walks in. She chooses the computer chair and Tim closes the door behind him before sitting down on the half remade bed.

"Am I dead? Those things you said that were different, it was weird but I didn't really want to bring them up. I really thought I was dreaming at first, but things were just too real. My hair wasn't this long yesterday. I tried talking to Alex earlier but he told me he couldn't say anything and that you'd be the one to explain." Amy blurts out. Tim's caught off guard and his nervousness shows as he rubs the back of his head.

"Well, to give you a straight answer at this point, I'm not really sure actually. Did Alex ever bring up Marble Hornets to you?"

"Only once when I asked about what projects he's worked on before. He said he tried working on it but it was trashed when the crew split. If I remember correctly, he quickly changed the subject and we never talked about it again. What does all of this have to do with Marble Hornets?"

"Well the crew that he talked about is all here, with the addition of you and Jessica. When he said we split, he wasn't really telling the truth. Trust me when I say it was for your safety. Now I'm gonna tell you something that might make your confusion worse but should actually clear things up. First of all,... Do you believe in the supernatural?"

She shrugs at the thought. "Um, yeah, I guess. I've always believed in an afterlife too. That is, if this is the afterlife, but I don't know. I'm confused on what everyone's freaking out about and what Seth said outside." Her shoulders slump, and she glances outside where it seems to have relaxed. Brian finally moved from the porch, and Jessica has joined Sarah and the others.

"There really is something supernatural going on here. I'm not sure what it is and honestly I don't think I want to know. Uh, as a kid I've had this thing attached to me. No one believed me when I brought it up and my parents thought I was crazy. Through my life I've learned to deal with it, and I was put on medication. It didn't get rid of it, but it worked in the sense that the effects it had on me, like coughing, memory loss, and blacking out, wore off quickly. I started attending actual school by eighth grade, but never made any friends in fear of them finding out about my problem. I didn't really want the thing to hurt anyone else either. Of course, people thinking I'm crazy was a factor too. By the time I got to college, Brian just wouldn't leave me alone and eventually grew on me. He eventually knew something was up, but I never really elaborated on it and he never dug into the subject. Brian got us involved with Marble Hornets and then filming for it started. It was starting out alright until Alex started acting pretty harsh with everyone and he started carrying a camera with him all of the time."

"Yeah..." Amy says softly, "At some point he did have the camera, but he never had it around me really. Eventually, he just stopped using it all together."

"I thought it was just a director thing but instead it turns out he was trying to capture the thing on camera. I guess as I started being around people for a long time, the thing branched off to the root of all of us, which was Alex. Everyone here was sucked into my problem because we were connected in some way. All of this caused Alex to become something he's not. The thing can manipulate your mind. It can cause you to slowly lose control. It's like you're not the one making decisions anymore, but at the same time you are. If that makes sense..." Amy's face only shows worry and concentration. "It causes you to black out, but in the time that you black out it's like it takes over your body and you become its puppet. It causes nothing but chaos and Alex was a victim of all of this. As he began figuring out what was happening, it started making him do horrible things... Horrible being an understatement, honestly."

Tim clears his throat. He takes a deep breath before moving on. "None of this is Alex's fault. He couldn't stop any of it from happening. You see... He attacked people. He figured out that this was all spreading, and the thought of having to stop it by killing the ...the infected, well, he was obsessed with it all." Amy's face contorts into disbelief and pure fear. Her body stiffens, tears welling up in her eyes.

"He's attacked Sarah, Seth, and Brian. Brian told me he woke up, saw the thing, and got away in time before anything too terrible happened. Brian was already in trouble at that point. I lost contact with everyone after he was attacked, and filming came to a stop. It wasn't until later that I heard from Brian, and he told me all that had happened. He questioned me about it because apparently he started seeing the thing after a while of being my friend and noticed me coughing and acting weird whenever the thing was near. I never really had to tell someone about it before so I didn't know how to react. I told him everything, and he kind of pieced it all together. We had this giant fight and lost contact again. I just went my separate way. I thought maybe if I distanced myself from everyone it would leave them alone. It wasn't until Jay had picked up on things, and contacted me that I had to finally do something about it all."

Tim takes a deep breath, and his mind goes blank on where to go from there. He might as well get to the point. "Amy... Alex also attacked you. I believe it's the last thing you remember before waking up today...I know that you found a camera and was talking to Alex when something showed up suddenly and Alex was trying to get you out and led you to the window." Amy's jaw drops a little as she slumps in her sit and puts her head in a hand.

Tim starts talking a bit slower and braces himself for Amy's reaction. "It's my best guess here that he either pushed you out the window and off the roof or he got you some other time. Just the thought of having to cut all ties so it wouldn't spread was festering in him, and you were one of the ties... I honestly don't know what he even remembers from all of that. I-I know it....doesn't really matter or count for anything nor worth anything at that but... I'm unbelievably sorry for everything that's happened and whether or not this is the afterlife or something, the truth is everyone here is or is supposed to be dead. The only death I'm not sure of is Jessica's. Jay brought her into all of this when she started trying to find you after you disappeared. I kept her from being seen alive until Alex was dead and then I cut all of my ties with her and showed her how to stay alive with the pills and everything. Either something happened with the thing or it was completely something else, I'm not sure."

Tim notices he's really rambling now. He looks up at Amy and his eyes widen as he sees that the wisp is back and in full now. Their hand is settled in Amy's, her face staring off at the ground with what looks like an expression of saddened understanding. Tears streak her face, and it wasn't until then that Tim notices he has a couple as well. He has a strange feeling though. All guilt weighing on him yet he feels light and kind of in slow motion. He's actually pretty tired so he rubs at his eyes and face. He opens them and makes eye contact with the little ghost child.

The kid, a little boy, looks seriously familiar. The grey hint in his hair noting it was of a darker shade, the alien cartoon shirt, and the untied sneakers. It finally clicks when the little ghost gives a small smile and Tim finally recognizes who it is.

It's him.


	7. New Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim finishes up the day with getting everyone on board and caught up as much as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No triggers. Please inform me if otherwise.

Tim stares in confusion. Is this his ghost or something? What is he doing to Amy?

Tim looks up at Amy, who's now staring at the door. Tim doesn't see anything there. The little boy tugs on Tim's sleeve and smiles up at him again. Chills run up his spine and he's more relaxed. The questions off the top of his head just roll off his tongue.

"Can you talk?" The smaller Tim shakes his head in response.

"Is she alright?" He nods.

"Can she see you?" He shakes his head.

"Are we dead?" The little one takes a moment to think and ends up shrugging. Tim rubs at his head, taking note to ask someone for something to help his headache. He looks back up at Amy and guilt rushes through him again. Slowly her stare goes back to the floor in front of her and her eye brows furrow. "What is she looking at?" little Tim is just smiling and looking in the same area as Amy. Tim looks again but sees nothing. "Hey, uh,...Tim?" The little one still seems to be distracted. How is he to get his attention? Tim gets an idea and sighs, "Timothy." The boy's head finally snaps back to Tim and Tim can't help but to smile a little bit. He remembers now that it wasn't until he started going to school that he slowly transitioned into being called Tim. "Hey, what's she looking at?"

Timothy simply points to himself, to Amy, and then to the empty space in front of her. Tim has no idea what that even meant so he sighs and glances outside. The others, minus Alex and Brian, were now just laying down in the grass, having no clue what supernatural experience was happening to Tim and Amy. "Can she hear me?" Timothy shakes his head and holds his pointer finger up to tell Tim to wait. Timothy does a quick gesture of some sort towards the empty spot in front of Amy. After a few seconds, he turns and waves to Tim before vanishing like smoke. Tim watches Amy for a few seconds as she blinks her way back to reality.

Holy shit she has one too!

A short moment of silence follows as Tim waits for her reaction. She looks around the room a bit and back at Tim. He knows exactly what she's thinking and just nods. She merely sighs and starts rubbing at her eyes.

"Amy?"

"Yeah?" Her voice breaks and she sniffles.

"I know it's a lot to understand... and I'm unbelievably sorry for all of this. I'll do my best to fix it, I swear! I ... I just hope you believe me and trust me when I say, it's not Alex's fault. If anything it's all mine." Amy nods and looks up at Tim.

"So who exactly knows about all of it?"

"Well, uh, I'm not sure what all everyone remembers but there's Alex, Jay, Jessica, Brian, and myself. It's just you, Seth, and Sarah that went too early to find anything out." The two almost sigh together.

"Can I talk to Jessica now?" She's on the verge of crying again and Tim can barely understand what she's saying. He gets "talk" and "Jessica" and nods as he practically jumps for the door.

"Just stay here I'll go get her." Tim leaves the room and heads downstairs to see Brian looking through the fridge. Tim passes him and goes out the door and pauses. He rubs at his eyes and heads half way to them.

They've already gone quiet from their small chatting and they sit up as they see Tim coming towards them.

"Jessica, can you come here, please?" The group looks to her as she gets up and quickly heads to his side.

"So, how is she?"

"I'm not really sure. Actually, I have no clue how anyone's been taking all of this besides badly. It's just been hours full of tears and headaches." A second passes and Jessica starts shuffling through her purse, which she must have found in her car. She pulls out some spearmint gum.

"Here, sometimes chewing gum can help relieve headaches, especially spearmint."

"Really?...uh... Thanks." Tim takes the gum and sticks it in his mouth. "Anyways, she's up in the same room. I actually shouldn't have left her alone, but she was asking for you, so yeah." Jessica nods.

"Seth has calmed down. Jay and I answered as many questions as possible. We've been showing them only a small amount of entries. Seth wanted to see his and a few others that were just hard to explain." Tim nods and rubs at his face.

"Alright, uh, thanks a lot for all of this. You should probably get to Amy." Jessica nods and somewhat jogs to the house, saying hi to Brian, who's opening a new bottle of water.

"Hey, do you guys know where Alex went?" Tim looks to the group and asks. They look at each other and shake their heads in response. He turns and looks up to where Brian is standing on the porch. The bottle in Brian's had crunches a bit as his body tenses up. It takes him a couple of seconds but he finally points towards the back yard and looks away, finding that it's probably better to be indoors. Away from all the eyes.

Tim only furrows his eyebrows and looks towards the others. Jay shrugs his shoulders and Seth just groans and lays back down.

"This is so fucked." Seth mumbles loud enough that Tim catches it. Tim can only nod his head in agreement as he heads towards the back. Hopefully everything's okay. Well, as okay as it can be for them right now. Which it really isn't. Tim's really not looking forward to that talk with Brian. That is, if the guy will even talk to him at all. Something's up, but it's going to have to wait.

\--------

It's overwhelming, he doesn't know what to say or how to explain himself. Tim and Seth keep yelling, Amy is spewing out questions, not that he blames her, and everyone's in a panic. He can't explain anything considering the fact that he doesn't know everything that's happened. It's all too spotty. At this point he doesn't know if what he's thinking is even real.

It's too much and he's about to walk away, but the argument's come to a slow halt. He sees confusion and fear when he glances at Amy but he doesn't know what to say. Hell, he probably shouldn't be saying anything at all, at this point. Amy goes into the house and Alex clenches his fists at the thought of her being so lost. He can't help her when he doesn't even know what to do with himself. He heads to the back yard.

The back of the house is secluded and quiet. The back porch is decorated with some plants and a swing for two. There's a large oak that keeps the yard shaded and it's the perfect place for Alex to gather his thoughts. He takes off his light jacket and bundles it up before laying down on the ground and resting his head upon it. After a few deep breathes, he's able to finally think straight and try to remember all that he can.

Everyone's going to be asking questions and he's not quite sure he'll be able to answer all of them. He remembers filming and seeing the thing around, and he remembers the constant headaches and coughing. There's a couple of times where he was yelling at Jay and other times where he just didn't know why he was getting so mad. There were the few times he woke up in the middle of Rosswood Park. There was that time he went filming with Brian but he doesn't remember much. He remembers strangling Sarah and he remembers when he filmed the tape after Seth's incident. There were a few images of some buildings but they don't ring a bell. The constant anger and anxiety that he felt lingers in the back of his mind but he seems pretty calm right now. He doesn't know how he's being so calm about it all. Maybe it's just too much of a shock that it's causing him to not feel anything. He doesn't really know. He doesn't know much about anything, right now.

Alex takes another deep breath and rubs at his eyes. He doesn't know what to do but right now, sleeping sounds like a great idea. So with that thought, he closes his eyes and tries to think clearly.

His eyes fly open and the sky seems to be a bit more orange. There's a ringing in his ears and he sits up quickly to look around. Everything's the same, really. He sighs and stands back up before brushing himself off. The ringing is going away slowly but surely. A white figure catches his eye and his body freezes.

Slowly, he starts backing up to the house as he quickly scans the yard. He's almost to the porch when there's a small little ghost-like ...something.... peeking out from behind the tree. Alex stops and squints to see what it is. Without really thinking, he starts taking a few steps forward and the being slowly steps out from behind the tree.

"What the hell?" he whispers to himself. "Is that-"

"Uh... Alex?" he quickly turns around and sees Tim with a worried look. He begins to look between Alex and the tree. Alex looks back, but the figure is gone. He's only left feeling confused. Was he hallucinating again? Should he tell Tim? What if something happens, again? "Alex?"

"Yeah?" he finally answers, "What's do you need?" he starts biting at his lip.

"Everything alright?"

"If I said yes, would you believe me?"

"Considering I just saw you slowly back away from the tree and mumble to yourself, I wouldn't count on it."

"Would you believe me if I said I saw a ghost?" or at least what looked like a ghost to him. He gets this strange expression from Tim.

"Was it a kid?" well that was unexpected.

"...uh....yeah....."

"Did he look like me?"

"No, he....... He looked like me?" Tim's eyebrows furrow. "Wait, what's going on?"

Tim sighs and responds with, "A long story," as he runs a hand through his hair.

The two sit on the porch and Tim explains what he's seen since he woke up, from the kid in the patch work clothing to seeing Alex backing away from the tree. Alex nods along the whole thing and proceeds to tell Tim what exactly he's remembered and what's still spotty. They tend to agree that Amy was probably experiencing the same thing with the ghost kids, but will ask her about it later. They're just finishing up their talk when Seth comes around the corner and hollers behind them, "Found them!" The group follows behind him and they gather around.

Tim and Alex stand. "I'll speak for you if you want." Alex only swallows hard and shakes his head. He knows what he needs to do.

Questions are asked one after the other. Most of which are answered by Tim, mainly dealing with what he knows about the creature and how he's dealt with it for so long. Tim didn't like being in the spotlight, to say the least. A few times he'd have to clear his throat in order to get the words out. A couple of times Jay would jump in and answer the questions about the times when he was with Tim. The two would share a nod as a way for Tim to thank Jay. Only a few times did people tear up or get red in the face with embarrassment. Seth's hair got wilder each time he'd run his hands through it and tug. Tim's hair wasn't looking the greatest either. They eventually ended up sitting down on the grass with Tim, Alex, and Jay on the porch. Everyone avoided any questions about Brian, seeing how odd he's being. Little bits of information were only slipped in when need be. Tim would glance towards him for his reaction only to see Brian's head in his hands.

"Jessica," Tim started out timidly, "This sounds like super bad to ask, but.....how ......what happened?" All eyes turned towards Jessica, and she thought for a second before giving a small smile.

"It's kind of bittersweet, in a way." Tim's confusion only grew at the word being paired with death. "I was uh, walking home alone one night from a get together with my friends. Stupid of me, really. They wanted to give me a ride, but I insisted on walking since it was just a few blocks away. Um," she stops to clear her throat, "I turned the corner and after I walked past an alley, I was mugged. I felt a sharp pain in my back as whoever yanked me stole my purse. I didn't really go through the tragic story like you guys but, uh yeah. Guess I just wasn't meant to live out my life." She shrugs and looks up at all the sympathetic eyes glued to her. Amy reaches and hugs here tight. Jessica's hand reaches up and wipes away her own tears that she was fighting to keep in.

"Jesus fucking Christ." Tim mumbles under his breath and lays down, covering his tired face with his arm. After everything that they did, everything that he did, she still died in the end. It wasn't even from the damn thing. Jay looks like he's about to be sick about the situation. It's like he's yet again at fault, somehow. It's a feeling that is eating at him in the back of his mind. A small moment of silence just goes by as all the information of today starts to settle in on everyone. Of course, it doesn't really settle in. Something so tragic and dark, and for some reason they were the ones that had to go through it.

Later, it turns out no one can call their family and no one can explain how Amy was able to. Then someone asked the golden question.

"What do we do now?" Jay wondered. This only resulted in Tim sighing, and he begins chewing on the inside of his cheek.

"Well, we have a place to sleep, and there's a pizza place down the road." Seth chimes in. Tim looks at him, kind of surprised. He looks around as a few heads nod, along with his own.

".......Sure.....Yeah that sounds good."


	8. One Big Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the first night the gang spends in the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No triggers. Please inform me if otherwise.

No matter how tired and worn out he is, Tim can't sleep for shit tonight. His head keeps racing with everything that's happened. It's not a surprise really. His ears have now begun to listen to any and every creak the house makes, any and every whistle the wind blows, and for any sign of danger. If his little ghost friend has anything to do with helping him feel "calm", he could sure use a visit right now.

There's no way this day actually happened. Tim has half a mind to get up and look in all the bedrooms just to make sure they're all still here. In one blink, they could all disappear, and he could be right back in his rundown apartment, staring at a mute television in the dark. Cigarettes sitting on the table, waiting to relieve his addiction. Waiting to bring him closer to lung cancer. At least that'd be a normal death. Just the thought of going out and smoking another one dries out his mouth, but Tim doesn't feel the urge to look for any, which is odd. After today, he would have gone through at least 3 packs.

After a while of just staring out his bedroom window, Tim finally gets up to get a drink. His feet touch the carpeted floor and the bed creaks a little as he heads for the door. He passes Jay's room before heading down stairs, fighting that same urge to check on him.

When he reaches the bottom of the stairs, he looks around the living room. The room is lit by the moonlight and the muted TV. On the couch, Brian lays with an arm behind his head and the remote in his other hand. He freezes in the midst of channel surfing as his eyes lock onto Tim like he's expecting something to happen. Tim just awkwardly nods to him, but this time he's the one to quickly look away. Tim heads off to the kitchen and reaches into the fridge for a bottle of water, seeing that that's all that's in it for now. He kind of feels bad for Brian, being down here all alone. Even with how big this place was, there still isn't enough room for all of them. Brian sleeps downstairs on the couch while everyone else sleeps upstairs. Jessica and Amy decided to just share the master bedroom since the bed is big enough.

Tim passes through the living room as the TV light freezes yet again until he's half way up the stairs. He comes to a slow stop as he sees the bathroom light on, the door open, and Alex's bedroom door open as well. He moves forward and peers into the bathroom, no one in it. Tim starts to hear mumbling from the bedroom and moves towards it slowly. He stops at the doorway when he sees what's happening.

Alex is sitting up with his head in his hands as Amy places a wet cloth on the back of his neck. She must have either changed her mind or couldn't sleep and came to his side. She barely acknowledges Tim as he leans against the door frame. When she does look up, Tim's look of concern is only matched by her own. A deep breath comes from Alex and Amy starts gently rubbing his back. Tim kind of feels wrong being there, like he's disturbing the moment for them, but for the safety of them all, it's pretty clear that he's going to have to be there when these moments happen.

Tim carefully approaches the bed and carefully sits on the edge. With a closer look at Alex, he can see the dude's been sweating like crazy. It's the end of August and not that hot of a night, even for Alabama. Alex must have gotten overworked, maybe even somehow fell asleep and had a terrible dream. Tim looks at the clock and sees that it is only 1:45 in the morning.

Alex slowly looks up from his hands, face red and sweaty. Tim slowly lifts the water into view. He hasn't opened it yet, and Alex clearly looks like he needs it more than him.

"Here." Tim says just over a whisper. Alex looks at it and gives a small nod before taking it with a shaking hand. Taking a couple of drinks, he finishes off a third of the bottle. Tim sighs and wipes at his eyes. He wonders how the other four are doing.

As if to answer his question, he sees Jay's door slowly start to open from across the hall. What he, Alex, and Amy saw next was almost comedic.

Jay shuffles his way out of his room as he wipes at his sleep deprived eyes. Apparently on his way to the bathroom, his zombie like movements can't avoid the small table pushed against the wall. Jay stumbles a bit as he runs into the table's leg, slightly cursing as he stubs his toe and keeps the small vase from falling. He continues to slightly limp his way to the bathroom, eyes almost completely closed as he steps into the light of the bathroom. He shuts the door behind him.

"....Yeah.....He's not the best at being aware of his surroundings. Never has been really." Tim says with a small shake of his head and a quiet chuckle. Amy gives a small laugh and Alex half smiles before taking another drink. He takes the wash cloth from the back of his neck and wipes at his face. There's a small thank you that makes its way in Amy's direction.

Jay walks back out of the bathroom after flushing the toilet and washing his hands. They all look up to see him stopped in front of the doorway, eyes still kind of squinting and heavy with the need to sleep. It's an odd scene to see, Tim at Alex's side.

"Everything alright?" Jay croaks out. He steps into the room and runs a hand through his hair.

"Yeah." Alex says before Tim could say anything first. "Yeah, just some nightmares, I guess."

"You guess?" Tim says with a confused look. Alex just shrugs and glances around the room before looking down at the water and wash cloth in his hands.

"I don't know, I don't remember. I just woke up freaking out." Alex says with a soft tone as if he was embarrassed about it. He takes another drink after wiping at his face again. Tim and Jay exchange glances and Amy continues to rub Alex's back.

"Amy?" Everyone's attention goes back to the doorway to see Jessica and Sarah.

"Hey, sorry. I was up and couldn't sleep. I was going to get a drink, but..." Amy glances at Alex when Tim finishes her statement.

"I don't actually think anyone can sleep tonight. I'd be surprised if anyone really could."

"Actually," Sarah starts up, "we just checked on Seth and he turned out to be sleeping."

"Not anymore since you guys decided to keep my door open and everyone's talking traveled on in." Seth walked through the doorway rubbing his tired eyes and went straight for the desk chair and sat down. "So what's all the hubbub?"

"No one's able to sleep so we just kind of gathered in Alex's room." Tim explains. Seth nods and yawns as he gets comfortable in his seat.

"That's understandable." A small moment of silence passes them before anyone speaks up again.

"What do we do now?" Amy pipes up. Tim can't help but to sigh.

"I have a feeling that question's going to pop up a lot around here." Jay rubs his face and speaks. A few of them nod in agreement.

"Is Brian still awake?" Sarah asks.

"Uh, yeah. He was just flipping through the channels before I came back up here."

Sarah walks to the top of the stairs.

"Hey Brian!" after a few seconds Brian shows up at the bottom of the steps with a sort of confused, hesitant look. "Come up here." Sarah waves her hand and heads back to the room. Brian looks around and slowly starts climbing the steps. His face reads nothing but confusion as he approaches the doorway.

"Hey man, glad you joined us. We're gonna have a slumber party in Alex's room. Everyone go get your mattresses." Jay claps his hands together and looks around with a slight smile. Tim raises an eye brow and looks at Alex. He's doing the same towards Jay but ends up chuckling and shrugging.

"Sure. It's not like this situation can get any weirder." Tim slightly smiles and shakes his head as he gets up to go get his. Everyone else thought Jay was just joking, but with the realization that he wasn't when he walked out to get his mattress, everyone seemed to be alright with it.

"Wait, we can move it to Jessica and I's room since it's bigger! Come on Jess, we'll move some furniture to make room." Jessica nods towards Amy, and they head to work after Amy kisses Alex's cheek.

"Come on, Brian, help with mine, please!" Sarah pleads and Brian raises an eye brow and follows after shooting a glance at Alex.

"Well this'll be fun." Seth slowly gets out of the chair and walks out of the room.

Alex sits there for a moment in slight shock. Were they seriously about to have a slumber party? After what's happened today they're going to have a slumber party. He couldn't help but laugh to himself and take a quick drink from the bottle. With one last wipe of his face with the cloth, he slowly gets out of bed and closes his door to change out of his sweat soaked shirt and uses his zip up jacket as a substitute. He carefully moves his pillows and sheets so he can get to his mattress. Before pulling it into the hallway he stops and checks what's happening.

"Oh shit!" Amy starts busting out laughing because Sarah somehow got crushed by a mattress and Seth is now trying to help her out from under it. God, he missed that sweet laugh.

Tim looks across the hall and notices the slight smile on Alex's face as he peers out. This is good. This is great actually. Who would have thought this was the way the night would have gone. Tim was sure they'd never stop asking questions, but he didn't really blame them. "Alright next person!" Jessica calls out. Tim starts pulling his mattress out of the room and into the next.

\--

When everyone settles and the giggling subsides, they're all tucked away. It's not the best set up. Some mattresses overlap others and most are being smashed to fit between furniture. Jay and Sarah caught Brian missing and found him trying to get comfortable on the couch. Sarah grabbed his hand and pulled him off, and she and Jay grabbed all the cushions they could. There were only a couple more so Brian ended up taking those ones. They ran into the room and made a human sized pillow nest in the corner.

A silence falls upon the room before anyone speaks up again.

"I feel like a kid again. This is the best kind of way to end a day like this one." Jessica says. Everyone agrees and it's not long before they start recalling the times they spent at their friends' houses.

"Hey, guys." Sarah whispers. "I think Seth fell asleep again." She smiles as she lightly pokes at his cheek and he doesn't respond.

"I don't blame him." Jay says before yawning and wrapping the light blanket around him. A couple of others yawn as well and they continue their discussions before half the room's asleep. By then, they finally say their good nights and fall into a comfortable silence.

Later on, Tim turns over to see the clock saying 3:14 a.m. As his tired eyes slowly blink, a small figure shows up in the doorway, causing them to snap open. This time, it's not his younger self. It's the first figure he saw disappear into the forest. With a closer look, it seems to be a little girl with darker hair, no shoes and a torn up dress. She's looking around the room with a small smile before finally looking at Tim. Her smile grew bigger as she waved and he can't help but to smile back a little. The kid's smile grew even bigger and she starts disappearing like before. Like smoke getting got on a small breeze.

I'm gonna have to talk to the others about this.

He looks around the room for the third time since everyone fell asleep. There's Amy and Alex on one Mattress. How they're not making such a fuss about the whole situation and their relationship, Tim will never know. Tim never really met Amy beforehand, but she seems like a really nice person. Super understanding, clearly. The full extent of true love will always baffle him, he guesses. Seth on the other hand is cuddling up with a pillow to his chest. Tim can't help but to lightly chuckle. Seth was always one of the funniest in the group. Combining him and Brian, Alex would have to struggle to get the crew back to work and stop laughing and giggling through the scenes. Jay's on his own mattress, huddled under a light blanket and his face half way buried in the pillow. Tim didn't think he'd ever see the sight again. All those nights checking up on him to make sure he was sleeping. Of course, the same went for Jay when it was his turn to take watch some nights. Sarah and Jessica now share the bed. Tim tries not to linger too much on Jessica's death. He already knows those thoughts would just lead to a sleepless night. He's actually surprised with how easy it went with Sarah. Tim thought she'd be the toughest to explain to.

A small movement catches Tim's eye as he finally looks over at Brian. Brian's back is towards him but he can see his fingers fiddling with a piece of thread attached to a pillow. A few seconds later, his hand stops and he moves around a bit to get comfortable. He finally goes still and settles in.

With one final sigh, Tim gets comfortable and soon falls asleep.


End file.
